Just as names move in and out of fashion so do sounds and initial letters.  In the 70s and 80s, J-names ruled, from Jennifer and Jason to Jessica and Joshua, and then came the Ms –Michael, Matthew, Melissa, Megan, the Bs—Brianna, Brittany, Brandon, the Ks—Kayla, Kimberly, Kelsey, and the still continuing As and Es—Ashley, Amanda, Ava, Emily Emma.

But what did they replace?  If you want proof of how an initial can fall totally out of favor, all you have to do is look at the performance record of the letter P.

In the last year counted, you have to scroll the Social Security list all the way down to #60 to find a single name beginning with that letter—the girl’s name Peyton—and for boys it isn’t until #124 that you get to Preston.  When P-names were in their prime, in 1950, you would have found nine names in the Top 60—Peter, Patrick, Philip, Paul, Peggy, Phyllis, Paula, Pamela and Patricia, none of which is found in the Top 100 today.

I’m not saying Phyllis is necessarily ready for her comeback (though those boys’ names could be), but there are certainly other P-names worthy of trying to resuscitate the reputation of that lost letter.  Such as:

GIRLS

PALOMA – Paloma is one of the loveliest options, and among the best bets for success.  Meaning ‘dove’ and thus symbolizing peace, it’s both gentle and dynamic.  A similarly appealing Latin name is PALMA, namesake of the charming city on the island of Majorca.

PATIENCE and PRUDENCE – Two virtue names projecting calm and—well—patience and prudence.  And the latter has the great nickname Pru plus a Beatles song for lullaby time.

PATRICE – The French unisex version of Patrick/Patricia gives either of those old standards a touch of Gallic flair and sophistication.

PATSY – Saucy, spunky nickname name that hasn’t been heard for so long that it’s beginning to sounds fresh.

PAULINA/PAOLINA—PAULINE is sweet; these Spanish and Italian versions are stylish and exotic.

PEARL – Definitely regaining some of its old luster.

PENELOPE/PENNY—Penélope Cruz has single-handedly revved up the appeal of this former frump; Penny is its cute retro nickname.

PERSIS –A distinctive New Testament choice for the intrepid baby namer.

PETAL and POSY—Rather than choosing the popular Rose, Lily or Daisy, you could go for one of these more unusual generic flower-related options.

PHILIPPA – Whereas Philip feels dated, its female counterpart, which has never gained much traction in the US, sounds interesting and new. Plus it has that bursting-with-energy nickname PIPPA. (more…)

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To check out the latest trends in French baby names, we turned to a true expert, Stéphanie Rapoport, creator of the popular site meilleursprénoms.com and author of L’Officiel des Prénoms 2010.  For anyone conversant in French, the site is filled with interesting lists, charts and analysis on French baby names.

And for those whose high school French is as shaky as mine, we asked Stéphanie to give us a recap, which she’s been kind enough to do:

“Baby names in France have never been shorter: exit Sébastien, Alexandre, Frédéric, Caroline, Nathalie, Angélique—the popular names of the 1980’s.  Emma, Léa, Clara now take the limelight as the most popular feminine names, while Lucas, Enzo and Nathan dominate the masculine ranking tables.

As a result, diminutives such as Lou, Tom, Théo and Alex are doing wonders.  Few analysts would have predicted such a phenomenon in a culture which used to disdain diminutives as merely “half names.

Ending sounds are also shaping to a large extent what becomes trendy and what does not.  Fashionable feminine names tend to end in the vowel ‘a’ (Emma, Sara, Léa, Clara, Lola, Éva, Louna and Lina being in the forefront).  Then there’s the explosion caused by Lilou, a new name which has led to the discovery of Louane and renewed interest in hyphenated names such as Lou-Anne.  For boys, names with ‘eo’ vowel juxtapositions abound, as in Léo, Théo, Mathéo, also o-endings (Hugo, Enzo) and names ending in ‘an’—Nathan, Ethan, Kylian, Evan, Esteban. (more…)

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Journalist Laura Dunphy, today’s guest blogger, enlightens us on what might not be so bad about your Mom hating your baby’s name.

My mother hates my daughter’s name.

And – don’t tell her this, please – I think it’s made me a better person.

My husband and I always thought that if we had a girl we’d call her Sophie Madeline. But when I was expecting our daughter, we decided we’d rather balance the growing popularity of Sophie with a more distinctive French name in the middle: Mireille.

When we officially announced the arrival of Sophie Mireille, my poshest friends raved. “What a lovely, very French-sounding name!” my globetrotting European pal Beatriz enthused. “Mireille is a fantastic, seriously underused name,” said Ann, an editor at a major entertainment magazine. My former boss Michelle, a retail executive who is always fabulously attired and never hands out an insincere compliment, gushed endlessly about how much she loved it. Oh, the delight!

Leave it to my mother to put an end to my glee. As we sat chatting around the dinner table one night, she mentioned that a family friend’s daughter, Zoe, was being called Zozo. I scrunched my face and asked, “Zozo? What kind of a nickname is that? It’s not even shorter than the original name.” To which my mother replied, “I don’t think you should be saying anything about anyone’s name.”

Stunned, I asked for an explanation, only to be informed that Mireille was not a real name. I believe my mother’s exact words were, “It’s horrible. We hate it.” My father nodded in solemn agreement. Apparently at some point over the course of the previous decade, I’d mentioned the name Sophie Madeline, and my parents had gotten attached to their vision of a fantasy granddaughter. As in, one with a name they had heard of before. (more…)

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Let’s say you have a dilemma:  There’s someone dear to you who would make a great namesake, but who has a not-so-great name.

Or there’s a name you’ve always loved that has become a bit too popular over time.  

One solution you might consider is finding a foreign variation of the name that adds a little pizzazz to it, while still retaining the family connection. No reason why Great-Aunt Florence can’t inspire a little Fiorella, or Grandpa Henry can’t bond with his relatedly-named Enrico.  (Granted, the idea might take a little getting used to on the part of the honoree.)

It doesn’t take much to change a conservative straight guy or  Plain Jane kind of name into a Latin lover or a French flirt. Sometimes it’s only a matter of adding one final vowel to give it that extra bit of exotic flair–say going from Leonard to Leonardo–or dropping a letter, as in making Flora into Flor; while others require some more elaborate  translating.  In any caseo Romance language cognates can definitely make a name more romantic, and the possible variations are almost endless..

Here, first, are some pairs with minimal differences, where the relationship between the two names is fairly obvious:

GIRLS

ADRIENNE  –  ADRIANA

ALEXIS –  ALESSIA

AMANDA –  AMANDINE

AMELIA  –  AMELIE, AMALIA

BEATRICE  –  BEATRIZ

BLANCHE –  BIANCA, BLANCA

CHARLOTTE  –  CARLOTTA

CLAIRE  –  CHIARA

EMILY  –  EMILIA

ESTELLE  –  ESTELLA

FELICE  –  FELIXA

FLORA  –  FLOR

FRANCES  –  FRANCESCA

GENEVIEVE  –  GENOVEVA

GRACE  –  GRAZIELLA, ENGRACIA

JACQUELINE  –  JAQUETTA

LEONA  –  LEONIE (LAY-oh-nee)

LOUISE –  LUISA

LUCY  –  LUCIENNE, LUCIA, LUCIANA, LUZ

LYDIA  –  LYDIE

MELISSA or MILLICENT –  MELISANDE

NAOMI  –  NOEMI

NICOLE  –  NICCOLA

PATRICIA  –  PATRIZIA

PAULA  –  PAOLA

PEARL  –  PERLA

RACHEL  –  RAQUEL

SYDNEY — SIDONIE

SYLVIA  –  SILVIE

VERONICA  –  VERONIQUE

VICTORIA  –  VITTORIA

VIOLET  –  VIOLETTA

BOYS

ADRIAN  –  ADRIANO

ANTHONY  –  ANTONIO

CALVIN  –  CALVINO

CONRAD  –  CORRADO

FRANCIS  –  FRANCESCO, FRANCHOT

FREDERIC  –  FREDERICO, FEDERICO

ISAAC  –  ISAACO

LAWRENCE  –  LORENZO

LEONARD  –  LEONARDO

LUCAS  –  LUCA

LUCIANO  –  LUCIANO

MARK  –  MARCO

MATTHEW  –  MATTEO

MICHAEL  –  MIGUEL

OLIVER  –  OLIVIER

PAUL  –  PAOLO

PHILLIP  –  PHILIPPE

SAMSON  –  SANSONE

TERENCE  –  THIERRY

THADDEUS  –  TADDEO

And now some where the connection isn’t quite as clear-cut:

GIRLS

CYNTHIA  –  CINZIA (CHIN-zee-a)

FLORENCE  — FIORELLA

HYACINTH  –  JAQUETTA

JADE  –  GIADA

JEWEL  –  BIJOU

JOAN — GIOVANNA

MICHELLE  –  MIGUELA

BOYS

CYRIL  –  CIRO

ELIJAH  –  ELIO

HENRY  –  ENRICO

HERMAN  –  ARMANDO

JAMES  –  DIEGO

JULIUS  –  GIULIO

LOUIS  –  CLOVIS

RALPH  –  RAOUL, RAUL

ROLAND  –  ORLANDO

STEPHEN  –  ESTEBAN, ETIENNE

WILLIAM  –  GUILLAUME

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 You don’t have to be an opera buff to appreciate the rich variety of names found in the classic repertoire.  It’s an especially appealing category because it contains such an interesting mix of languages: there are frilly French female names, unusual Italian mens’ names, as well as some usable German and Russian character names.  These range from leads such as Aida and Tristan, to featured players to those with minor roles.

So, omitting common names like Amelia, Norma and Susanna, and the more uber-the-top names like Brunhilde, here are some lyrical opera names:

SOPRANO GIRLS

ABAGAILLE
AIDA
ALCINA
ANNINA
BIANCA
CARMEN
DESPINA
ELENA
ELETTRA
ELSA
FLORIA (TOSCA)
FRICKA
GILDA
GIOVANNA
ISOLDE
JAVOTTE
JULIETTE
KATISHA
LAKME
LEONORA
LIU
LOLETTE
LUCIA
MADDALENA
MANON
MARCELLINA
MARGUERITE
MICAELA
MIMI
MUSETTA
NEDDA
NORIN
PAMINA
ROSINA
SUZUKI
TATYANA
VIOLETTA
ZERLINA

BASSO BOYS

ALTOUN
ANDRES
BASILIO
BELLO
BENOIT
BETTO
BORIS
CLAUDIUS
DRAGO
ELVINO
FERRANDO
FIESCO
FIORELLO
GIOVANNI
GUNTHER
MARCELLO
NARDO
OTTAVIO
PIZARRO
RAMIRO
ROCCO
ROMEO
SENECA
SILVIO
SILVANO
TAMINO
TONIO
TRISTAN
TYBALT
VALENTIN

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